officialdirectioners:

“Final Chance”

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“Niall?” Liam wheezed. The blonde boy leaned forward to listen. Liam was lying in a hospital bed, waiting to be taken into surgery. The other boys had already said goodbye, only Niall was left.
“Look, if I don’t make it-” Liam started. Niall shook his head fiercely, the tears welling up.
“Don’t say that man, you’re gonna make it!”
Liam coughed wearily. “Niall, we’ve tried this. It doesn’t work, my body just keeps rejecting them.”
His kidney had started to fail a few months before, and since then, he’d gone through two transplants. Neither had worked.
“Third times a charm, aye?” Niall answered, his voice breaking. He was trying to be strong, but both of them knew that this was his last chance.
“If I don’t make it,” Liam said again, “then I want you to do something for me.”
Niall grasped his hand and took a shaky breath.
“Anything.” He said, hot tears spilling onto the thin bed sheets. He meant it, he would do anything for his best friend.
 “Remember that beach?” Liam asked quietly, his eyes closed.
“Yeah.” Niall whispered back, resting his cheek on Liam’s arm. He knew the beach. The one they filmed their first music video on, the one they visited every summer, the one where they would go when things got rough. That beach had kept them together, it had kept them strong.
Liam coughed again. “I want you to take my ashes there.”
Niall sat up and began to argue. This kind of talk was too much for him.
See, Niall still had hope. He still believed that Liam would make it. He had promised himself that he would keep fighting, right to the very end.
Liam knew this, but he also knew they didn’t have much time.
“Just take my ashes there,’ Liam continued “and spread them over the sand.”
Niall sat quietly for a moment, imagining the scene. T
he boys dressed in black, taking fistfuls each and holding them out to the wind, letting it carry Liam away from them.
“Will you do that for me?” A deep voice interrupted Niall’s thoughts. The blonde boy looked down at his best friend and nodded.
“Of course.” Niall leaned over to hug him. Liam began to quietly sob into Niall’s shoulder.
“I’m scared Niall.” Liam shuddered, gripping him tighter. Niall buried his face in Liam’s chest, squeezing his eyes shut against the world.
“Me too…” He whispered squeakily. It felt unfair, the way life was trying to rip Liam from his grasp.
“Mr Horan?” A voice asked from the doorway.
Neither boy moved, they simply kept their arms locked around one another, trying to hold on.
“Mr Horan, it’s time.”
Niall stood up and mouthed a goodbye, his fingers lingering among Liam’s. Eventually, he took a step back and let his hand fall limply by his side.
Just before walking out, Niall caught the doctor’s eye and nodded.
As the nurses wheeled him into surgery, Liam silently thanked his fans for the support. He thanked his friends for the memories. He thanked his family for their love. Lastly, he thanked his bandmembers… his brothers, for everything.
And as his eyelids closed to the world, Liam said a special thankyou to Niall, for always being there.

A voice echoed, the words faint. Liam’s eyes fluttered open, the light stinging slightly.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Harry’s low voice lulled him into reality. Liam looked around at Louis, who smiled, and then at Zayn, who gave him a reassuring nod.
“Your vitals are normal,” the doctor said as he inspected his chart. Liam looked up at him and frowned. The doctor just chuckled and patted Liam’s shoulder.
“You’re going to be just fine kid.”
When he left, Liam turned to the others and managed to wheeze out just one word.
“Niall?” He asked them, his stomach churning.
The others just smiled and parted, revealing something Liam had missed. There was a second bed in the room and it was occupied by a small, blonde haired boy.
“Hey buddy.” Niall whispered. He lifted up his shirt to reveal a bandage .
Liam’s eyes widened as the truth dawned upon him. Niall just grinned and said simply
“Third times a charm, aye?”